


Tangled Webs of a Deceitful Spider

by Novel-Failure (NoveltyToy)



Category: Spider-Man (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Abduction, Alternate Universe, Awkward Sexual Situations, Bad Decisions, Bad Flirting, Bad peter, M/M, One-Sided Relationship, Secret Identity, Sexual Harassment, Stalking, Teenagers, bad author, bad bad bad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-04-17 07:47:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14184255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoveltyToy/pseuds/Novel-Failure
Summary: Peter Parker has been reclusive and misanthropic ever since his parents were framed for treason and disappeared when he was 7 years old. His aunt and uncle took him in, raised him as best as they could, but they couldn't protect him from his own cynical worldview or all the bullying that he endured while attending public school.Now, after a mysterious spider bite has given him super powers, Peter is taking destiny into his own hands. The Spider-Thief won't allow any officers of the law or so-called heroes to stop him from getting what he wants. Money, fame (infamy, more like), high tech gadgetry, oh - and the ultimate prize? Harold Theopolis Osborn, the boy of his dreams.Peter is more than willing to lie, cheat and steal. He'll do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Peter's not only good at being bad, heenjoysit.* An alternate summary is available in the Notes and INTRO chapters will provide a look at characters' reinvented backstories and motivations. Please be aware that the INTRO chapters are written from a different POV than what I intend to use for the rest of the story.





	1. INTRO: Peter Parker

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate Summary:
> 
> In this AU, Peter Parker chose to use his powers for his own personal gain by becoming the infamous Spider-Thief. He vastly prefers the codename Stealth Spider, but he's having trouble getting the moniker to stick. He half considers signing his work, but that wouldn't be very stealthy. Then again, not much of what he does is especially stealthy, so maybe Spider-Thief is technically the better name. Stealth Spider just sounds way cooler.
> 
> Meanwhile, Peter also has nefarious reasons for agreeing to help Miles Morales develop the heroic persona of Spider-Man after learning that his classmate gained a similar set of super powers. The poor kid has a lot of trouble gaining respect as a hero with media outlets like the Bugle loudly voicing suspicions that he's working with the Spider-Thief. And while they're not wrong, Miles doesn't know that. He can't figure out how the thief always seems to be two steps ahead of him. 
> 
> Should I even mention possible subplots with the Vulture, Doc Ock, Jackal and Norman Osborn all spelling trouble for our main protagonists?
> 
> In typical teenage fashion, investigating the origin of those spiders and thwarting the bad guys' evil schemes all takes a backseat to Peter's massive crush on Harry Osborn and his poorly thought out plans to win the boy over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *If the use of caps lock, color coding or other special formatting bothers you then you can press the **Hide Creator's Style** button up above to change it back to normal text.

* * *

**Peter Parker**  
** AKA Spider-Man**  
Haha. Nope, jk.  
Not in _this_ reality.  
Go ahead, _guess again._

 **Peter Parker**  
** AKA the Spider Creep,**  
** the Spider Menace,**  
but most commonly referred to as:  
** the Spider-Thief. **

You've probably all heard this story before.

**Peter Parker:**

  * orphaned as a child,
  * raised by his aunt and uncle,
  * bitten by a spider during a class field trip,
  * woke up with superpowers,
  * ditched his glasses,
  * got himself a red pair of tights,
  * gave pro wrestling a shot because he was short on cash,
  * all that somehow led to his Uncle Ben being gunned down by a robber that Pete neglected to stop,
  * the old man died as a result,
  * Peter went out looking for vengeance in the form of some vigilante justice,
  * and a spider themed superhero was born.



_Well..._ things happened just an  _itsy bitsy_  little bit differently this time.

While, _yes,_ all of that did still _technically_ happen, the more precise details may surprise you. Except they probably won't, since I sort of led with all the villainous titles that this version of Peter is associated with. Okay, you know what? Why don't I start again from the beginning and you can see for yourself where the story starts to diverge from the norm.

How much do you know about Peter's parents?

Their names: Richard and Mary Parker - formerly Mary Fitzpatrick, but her maiden name is hardly relevant.

Did you know they were both Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Yeah, full blown secret agents with some serious scientific credentials on top of everything else. Very smart _and_ tactical. So I guess not all of Peter's talents come from the mutated spidery parts of his DNA. He had certified badass in his genetic make-up from the very day he was born.

_Ahem._

While I'm sure the Parkers were involved in a lot of exciting research and high level intelligence gathering, their final mission is the only one of import. They both went deep, _deep_ cover in the special projects division of a bio-engineering firm owned by the Osborn Corporation (henceforth referred to as Oscorp).

Long, long, _long_ story short: they absconded with top secret Oscorp research, fled the country in a private jet that experienced catastrophic engine failure and then crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. They were disavowed by S.H.I.E.L.D. and wanted by the American Government on charges of treason, the suspicion being that their intent had been to sell potentially dangerous biological weapons research to hostile powers. Their bodies were never recovered from the wreckage and they were both presumed dead. Ultimately, their motives were left unclear.

The most charitable interpretation of events might have assumed that they uncovered a villainous plot and acted quickly to prevent the dangerous research from falling into the wrong hands. No one truly knows what happened except for the person or persons that may have rigged that plane to explode.

 _So..._ how does all that relate back to poor prepubescent Peter Parker's story? Much as Ben and May Parker wanted to shield their nephew from the terrible allegations against his parents, the choice was taken away from them by some overly aggressive law enforcement agents (who may or may not have had other secret allegiances).

The very day after his parents left him with his aunt and uncle, officers came to the door. Uncle Ben tried to turn them away, but they forced their away inside. They  _demanded_ that Peter recall all events leading up to his parent's leaving, anything that they may have told him or he may have overheard, and any places where they might have hidden sensitive files.The little boy endured some very intense lines of questioning, and young Peter Parker told them _nothing_. He remained completely quiet at first. Then their questions got louder, more forceful, insistent, so he screamed in their face and told them to _go away._ When that didn't work he buried his head in his arms and he refused to answer any of their questions. Not now, not ever. He would only repeat the following tune: _"La la la, I can't hear you!"_

The allegations that his parents were criminals, he could accept. There was no getting around that. The police had evidence. His parents had broken the law, that part was irrefutable, but Peter _knew_ that they must've had good reasons. His parents were good people. He refused to believe that they would jeapordize global security, as the policeman claimed, by selling such dangerous research to people that would abuse it.  _No. Absolutely not._ They were responsible scientists! 

Pete quickly grew suspicious of his interrogators. They were lying to him, misrepresenting facts, or they had been lied to and misled to believe what they were saying was true. Whatever the case, his parents weren't bad people. Peter grew to suspect that they must've been framed, the whole thing had been a set-up. The real bad guys were the ones his parents had been investigating. It was  _Oscorp_ that couldn't be trusted, not his parents. Whatever had happened, Peter was certain that Richard and Mary Parker were the real heroes of the story and Osborn was the ultimate villain. 

Later that very night, the Parkers learned of the terrible plane crash. 

Pete couldn't wrap his mind around the thought that his parents were dead. That they were well and truly _gone_ and never coming back. It took years for him to accept that. In the meantime, Peter dug in his heels, convinced that if he kept their secrets then that would prove his loyalty. Once the heat died down, his parents would come back for him. The longer he had to wait, the more he fantasized of their eventual return and the eventual success of their mission to take down the evil corporate executives at Oscorp who had set them up. 

It was all fiction, conspiracy theory, but by the time Peter turned 15 he would be completely fixated on his secret mission to take down the evil corporation that stole his parents from him. Once the true villains were exposed, his parents would be free to come out of hiding. They would rise from the dead to reunite with him and they could all be a happy family once again.

But until that day Pete was forced to suffer through being left in the care of Richard's dumb younger brother. Ben Parker was by all other accounts a good man: honest, warmhearted, generous and well loved by those that knew him. But Peter absolutely hated him. Ben could never replace Richard as Peter's father and he resented the old man for trying. Ben was always preaching to Peter about being respectful and kind to others, doing what's right even when it wasn't fun or easy, and being a big friggin nag about keeping his room clean.

Ben had no appreciation for Peter's genius, the inherent chaos in the creative process, or the harsh truth that hard choices sometimes meant having to cross moral lines. What claim did Ben even have to understanding philosophy? He was just a college drop-out that scraped together a living in some lowly manufacturing job, and somehow he thought he was qualified to lecture Peter on the ethics and responsibilities of being a man _._  

Of course, Peter's daily struggles didn't end at home. Disasters continued to plague his existence when he went to school. The academia posed little problem for the boy genius, but the social climate quickly brought him into conflict with the star student athlete of Midtown known as Flash Thompson. This kid knew all the bullying classics and delighted in acquainting Peter with as many of these as feasibly possibly. 

Verbal taunts, wedgies, pantsing, spitballs, ... _hell,_ he even snuck a whoopie cushion onto Peter's chair once during study hall. Peter vowed to himself that one day he would have his revenge. 

Peter's saving grace was his extremely unlikely friendship with Harry Osborn. Peter only crossed paths with Osborn by chance. One might call their meeting serendipitous. At age 13, Peter had been especially blown away by this completely unforseen piece of luck in the otherwise dreadful series of misfortune that comprised the sum total of his short life.

They didn't attend the same school. Ben and May Parker could never afford to send Peter to the same private institution where Harry receives his education. No, poor Peter Parker was stuck in a chronically underfunded and overpopulated public school. Peter almost crossed paths with Harry at local science fairs and expos at least several times before, but the special occasion that brought the two boys together was one that both boys had been extremely reluctant to attend. 

...

**How Peter Met Harry**

1st Draft  
(Events may be subject to change/alteration.)

Oscorp hosts a charity event honoring the first responders to [insert super catastrophic incident]. Norman Osborn brings his son Harry to the event.

Peter is only in attendance because Aunt May is part of the catering team/waitstaff and forced Peter to tag along.

Peter overhears Miles and Gwen arguing about [something science] and feels compelled to butt in with his two cents.

Harry comes over to join the group (already knowing Miles and Gwen from his private school, which both of them attend with the help of scholarships). 

 

...

 **The Field Trip**  
to **Oscorp Tower**

1st Draft  
(Events may be subject to change/alteration.)

It was Peter's sophomore year in high school when some of Midtown's Advanced Placement classes were being given the unique opportunity to tour one of Oscorp's research facilities and begin applying for internships. 

It was Peter's first real chance to get a foot in the door and he couldn't be more excited.

(He was never so glad that his classmates all assumed his excitment was pure nerdery. It was so much more than that. This would be his first opportunity to infiltrate Oscorp. To peak behind the curtain.)

As an added bonus, Harry was going to be there acting as one of the tour guides. 

While they breaked for lunch, Peter managed to convince Harry to sneak away from the rest of the group and give him a closer look at one of the labs. The exact phrase he used was:  _"How about a private tour?"_

 _"Alright,"_ Harry agreed after many half-hearted protests.  _"But we could get in a lot of trouble._ Stay close to me. **Don't** wander off. And try not to touch _anything."_  

Rules like that were made to be broken.

...

(Blah, blah, blah), Peter got bitten by a genetically modified spider.

The spider's venom must have had traces of (blah, blah, blah), because when Peter woke up the next morning his body had gone through some significant changes overnight.

....
    
    
      //,,\\        
     _\\()//_
    / //  \\ \
     / \__/ \

...

 _A lot_ has happened since Peter got bit by that spider. Pete had always been a fighter in spirit. but when the other kids pushed him around he'd never had the leverage or the strength to push back. But now, with the development of these new arachni-batic abilities, he finally had the skills and muscle to change the game. No more writing checks with his mouth that his fists couldn't cash. No more losing his lunch money to bullies or getting his ass kicked behind the dumpster. It would take another super-human or some advanced weaponry to take him down, and right now Peter liked his odds against the current line-up of heroes in town.

He started small. Wary of revealing his secret, he quickly took to wearing a mask. He snuck up on his former bullies and he made them pay. Juvenile pranks for some, more serious beat downs for others. Some he just straight up mugged because it occurred to him that might help obfuscate motive and create a larger pool of suspects if anyone chose to investigate. Getting caught because of some lame adolescent revenge fantasy come to life would be a terrible waste of his newfound power. 

Needless to say, Peter's ambitions soon grew. 

He joined an underground fight club for the chance to win cash prizes and then he stayed for the thrill. No one used their real names. They didn't even care that he preferred to keep the mask on. He wasn't the only one there with a colorful gimmick. The more serious fighters called them all kooks and generously offered to drop them back off at the asylum once they finished with them. But the jeers directed at Peter dropped considerably after they saw him perform in the ring. 

It was a relief to have an outlet for all of his pent up aggression. He'd gotten bored with the school bullies and even more frustrated with the way they managed to gain sympathy from most of his classmates over the so-called "random" and "senseless" attacks. _It was so unfair._ No one at school had ever cared that much about Peter whenever he'd been shoved around.

So Peter took his anger, his enhanced strength, his sixth sense for danger, fast reflexes, and he won every battle. Took down every fighter they threw at him, multiple assailants at the same time once they started to realize how horribly outmatched they were alone. Peter felt like he was on top of the world, unstoppable.

A few gangs recognized his talents and tried to recruit him for some _real_ work. Stuff they thought his special gifts might be better suited for. And while the money was tempting, Peter preferred to remain a free agent. 

Then the event manager got greedy and tried to cheat him out of his prize money. Guess he was some middle management type and whoever he reported to was upset that he was letting Peter's talent go to waste. He all but demanded that Peter make this gig a regular thing and play along - take a dive - whenever they told him to. Asshole thought he'd come prepared with enough muscle to keep Pete from making a fuss. Meanwhile, Peter grew angrier the whole time. He sure as hell wasn't going to be bullied any longer. And he wasn't leaving without his money, either, even if he had to take it by force.

In the end, Peter stopped just shy of putting that ass in a body bag. The goons were all pretty worse for wear as well, Pete probably got more than a bit carried away and dealt some permanent damage. It was their own damn fault for starting a fight that they couldn't win.

Two months later, Peter learned that he made a mistake that night. The asshole and his thuggish friends overheard/learned just enough to connect him to his Uncle Ben and shot the old man dead.

In another life maybe Peter would've treated Uncle Ben's tragic death as a wakeup call. Maybe he would've gotten his act together and tried to do some good in the world. Try to combat the senseless violence in the street by donning a colorful spandex costume and fighting crime. Come to think of it, that just sounds dumb. What does Pete have to gain from all that except for a massive hero complex and bi weekly existential crisis? No, thanks. This Peter decided to give the life of a thankless hero a hard pass. This Peter was choosing a vastly different path.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions to invite some commentary:
> 
> *Are there any parts of the reinvented backstory that you would like to know more about? 
> 
> >If so, what format would you prefer: to see them described in greater detail from a third person POV, watch characters discuss those events with each other, reflect on them in private, or would you like to see them play out, perhaps in a flashback?
> 
> *Any comments/concerns about my vague plans for Miles and Harry? 
> 
> *Any ideas or requests that you would like to submit for consideration?


	2. TEASER: Gwen is a Certified Instigator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a thing I wrote. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Leave comments if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *If the use of caps lock, color coding or other special formatting bothers you then you can press the **Hide Creator's Style** button up above to change it back to normal text.

** This is an excerpt from after the Oscorp sponsored event where Peter met Harry, Miles and Gwen. **

* * *

Gwen might've formed an immediate crush on Peter. " **What can I say?** " She would later text Miles, " **He's kind of cute.** "

" **And he's not the least bit interested in you.** " Miles felt it his duty to point out. " **Pretty sure he has eyes for Harry tho.** " 

" **Pretty sure? Like how sure exactly?** "

" **Let's just say that Peter laughs at all of his jokes and we both know Osborn isn't that funny.** "

 " **Was Harry into it?** "

" **How should I know?** "

" **Apparently you notice these things.** "

" **Yeah, regretting that now. Last time I make that mistake.** "

" **Come on, Miles. A girl's gotta know.** "

" **Know what exactly? A lost cause?** "

" **A real life gay ship to sail.** "

" **No, seriously.** "

" ***sighs* you're right. We both have better things to think about.** "

" **Damn right.** "

" **I'm txting Harry.** "

***smh***

...

" **Hairryyy** " 

" **Sup?** "

" **What did you think of Peter?** " Gwen half regretted her phrasing after hitting send. 

" **Peter who?** "

" **Peter Parker.** " She clarified, " **From the party the other night.** " Harry was taking too long to respond. " **Short. Brown hair. Glasses. Only other kid there.** " 

" **Yeah, I know who you're talking about.** " Harry was just a little frustrated by his friend for interrupting his studying with such a dumb off-the-wall question. What did it even matter what he thought about Peter? It wasn't as if they'd ever see him again.

" **I got his number.** " Gwen texted.

Harry's impulsive response was _'good for you,'_ but he didn't press send.

" **Just in case you wanted to get in touch.** " Gwen got a little too excited during the long wait for a response from Harry. " **Not that you might want to touch him or anything.** " ... " **Unless you want to touch him. Then that's cool too.** " 

" **I've got a lot of work to do. Can we talk about this later?** "

" **Depends... are we actually going to talk about it or is this your way of dodging the conversation indefinitely?** "

" **Putting my phone on silent now. Bai** "

" **We are so talking about this later!** " ... " **I won't forget.** " ... " **But here's his number in case I forget.** " She sent Pete's contact info. " **Do what you will with it, Harold.** "

...

Once she finished with Harry, Gwen couldn't not get the last word in with Miles.

" **If they get married, you're going to have to fight me for the role of Best Man.** "

Miles half thought Gwen could teach an Advanced Course in Hyperbole. Still, he couldn't let her get the last word, so he texted back: " **no comment.** "

**/End Scene**

* * *


	3. Osborn's Got Problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Norman's combined Introduction Chapter.
> 
> Also serving as a follow-up to the Teaser: Gwen's a Certified Instigator by implying that Gwen often tries to set Harry up with boys ever since learning that her friend is gay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like there's an art to writing enjoyably bad fiction, and I keep getting hung up on feeling bad when my writing doesn't measure up to the good stuff. Which is ridiculous, because I never set out to write something _good._ I'm writing something **bad** and that's the whole point - that's what makes it fun, for me anyway.

* * *

**Harold Theopolis Osborn**  
** AKA Harry. Harry Osborn.**  
** the Romantic Interest**  
who isn't all that interested  
in romance or spiders.  
**spoiler warning:**  
things aren't going to work out so well for Harry, as he will be relentlessly pursued by a spider with romantic intentions.

* * *

Harry never intended to humor Gwen's little attempts at playing matchmaker. In fact, he deeply regretted ever mentioning to her that he thought he might be gay. Had he known the trouble it would cause he would've kept his sexual preferences to himself.

_Not that it mattered,_ but he just wasn't interested in dating right now. There was no point. At their age, any coupling would be lucky to last longer than a week and ultimately be doomed to failure within a month. It would result in nothing more than a lot of petty drama to distract him from his schoolwork.

As if he didn't already have enough problems to sort through, Norman Osborn wasn't going to cut his son any slack if his grades dropped because he was too busy fooling around with an adolescent crush or pursuing some damn puppy love. Norman Osborn had no patience for that sort of thing; he barely tolerated it when Harry chose to waste his time hanging out with his school friends. Supposedly, Norman generously allowed special time for it because recreational bonding activities were important for social development but Harry suspected that his father just couldn't be bothered to check in and make sure Harry actually followed the schedule that was set for him. Things like game nights and sleepovers were his incentive to stay on track lest he lose those privileges.

It was both a blessing and a curse that his father was often too busy to enforce his strict set of rules on Harold. So as long as Harry made strides to meet his father's academic expectations of him, Harry could usually avoid being reprimanded for a few minor indiscretions. Mostly because it was so ridiculously easy to slide beneath the old man's radar.

Besides, it wasn't as if Norman's punishments were all that harsh when he did step out of line. There was enough overlap between Harry's interests and the things Norman wanted him to be doing that there was little harm to be done. And Horizon High was big on encouraging collaboration so there was always some group project preventing Norman from completely forbidding Harry to talk to his friends.

Honestly, the worst punishment was having to endure the silent treatment. No matter how accustom Harry was to his father's frequent absences or work distractions, the deliberate choice to ignore him always hurt the worst. And Harold had been suffering in said silence ever since the near-disaster at the charity thing the other night. It hadn't even been his fault! 

Replaying the memories of the previous evening's follies was interrupted by the notification of an incoming text message from Gwendolyn "Smart-Blonde" Stacy. Was it too much to hope for that she might be celebrating the completion of her homework assignments by texting him all the right answers? 

" **Hairryyy** "

_'Dangit.'_  Gwen's obnoxious and completely intentional typos always spell trouble for Harry. 

" **Sup?** " Harry responded just to be polite, and also on the off chance that she'd actually have something important or interesting to be texting him right now. 

" **What did you think of Peter?** " He had no idea what she was talking about. His first thought was to wonder if she'd blasted through too many energy drinks or packets of pure sugar. This was probably just the setup for a bad joke so he treated it like one.

" **Peter who?** " He asked.

_" **Peter Parker.**_ " Emphasis imagined. ... She was immediately typing more after hitting send. 

" **From the party the other night.** " 

_'Oh,'_ Harry thought,  _'that Peter.'_ Still didn't make sense why she would randomly want to talk about him of all things. Especially when she should be buried under just as much homework as him right now. 

" **Short. Brown hair. Glasses. Only other kid there.** " 

" **Yeah, I know who you're talking about.** "  

" **I got his number.** " 

_'Good for you.'_ Why should he care? Harry was far too busy trying to stare down three unfinished assignments and a term paper.

" **Just in case you wanted to get in touch.** " ... " **Not that you might want to touch him or anything.** " ... " **Unless you want to touch him. Then that's cool too.** " 

Harry had never rolled his eyes so hard in his life. They might have been in serious danger of getting stuck in the back of his head. _'Seriously, this again?'_ Harry groaned. 

" **I've got a lot of work to do. Can we talk about this later?** " Harry texted back in the hopes that she would _drop the subject._

" **Depends... are we actually going to talk about it or is this your way of dodging the conversation indefinitely?** "

" **Putting my phone on silent now. Bai** "

Harry set his phone down, intent on ignoring anymore would-be distractions so he could focus on getting some work done. Which worked fine for a little while, but it wasn't long before his mind began to wander. 

He was so  _not_ humoring Gwen, but it did occur to him that these late night cram session might be more bearable if he had someone to share in the misery. Or that this could feel more rewarding if he had someone to look forward to being with when it was over. Or - _heck_ \- if he just had someone special in his life, _period._

_'Ugh.'_ He hated himself just for entertaining those thoughts. He didn't need someone to make him feel better. He didn't need someone to make him feel whole. He didn't need to jump on the bandwagon of short lived teenage romance. The only outlet he _needs_ to take care of his raging hormones is a greasy palm and a little privacy. Also, preferably an internet connection, although he's a little paranoid that his father would have means to check his history regardless of whether he goes incognito...

_'No time to think about that right now. **Stay focused.** This assignment is due **tomorrow**.'_  

Approximately Twenty Minutes Later.

Harry dropped his pen on the desk before his hand could be overtaken by the urge to throw it. He had silenced his phone, but he could still see the notification light blinking from the corner of his eye. 

Harry loved his friends, but sometimes they were a bit _too much._  

After an angry three seconds of glaring at the offending piece of technology, Harry unlocked his messages. 

" **We are so talking about this later!** "

_'We are not.'_

" **I won't forget.** "

_'Uh-huh. Yeah,_ yeah, you will. _Give it a week, at most, and you wont even remember his name.'_  

" **But here's his number in case I forget.** "

_'Ugh.'_ She'd texted him Parker's deets with two winky face emoticons. _'No, thanks.'_

" **Do what you will with it, Harold.** "

_ 'Absolutely nothing.' _

Then, to his surprise, Harry saw a notification of a text from Miles. 

" **Ignore her.** " was all it said.

That... that made Harry smile, a short but sweet relief from his mounting frustrations. He half contemplated drafting a quick reply before deciding against it. Miles was far less likely to be offended if Harry put off saying anything. A simple 'thanks' would probably do, but he didn't want to risk that one word response coming off as sarcastic. 

This time Harry made sure to set his phone _face down_ so he wouldn't be bothered by the blinking notification lights. He set his attention back to the task at hand.

His school assignments were so horridly dull, tiresome. The questions posed lacked any imagination and the professor relied too much on nigh endless repetition to ensure the process used to solve equations became rote, automatic, unthinking and that alone bothered Harry.

Of course he recognized how it was useful, necessary even, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He would much rather spend time enriching his mind with new avenues of discovery, but without a solid foundation of mathematical reasoning the more advanced work would quickly become incomprehensible. So he resigned himself to completing the tedious task he'd been given and threw on a bit of music to help sooth his tortured teen spirit.

Thirty long minutes passed before Harry granted himself a chance to stretch his legs. He rose from his seat, arms raised above his head until he felt the satisfaction of a little shoulder crack. He glanced at the time, gave an exaggerated yawn, and decided a little midnight snack was in order. He was determined to finish the assignment before going to bed and to keep his brain functional enough for that would require refuelling. He made his way towards the kitchen in a bit of a daze, his mind still half caught up in a swirl of lines and numbers.

He was just passing through the living room when he overheard his father arguing with someone. They were just far enough away that Harry couldn't quite make out what it was about. Someone or something wasn't "living up to expectations," a deep voice was saying. 

"Sounds to me like your boss needs to reevaluate those expectations. I couldn't have been more clear when I informed him of the risks involved. Setbacks come with the territory." 

_"Setback_ is putting it mildly. The results of your little _experiment_  were a complete disaster." 

"One that I assure you my associates are working double-time to rectify. [Something, something] and we've already nearly finished perfecting a containment unit for the -  Harry," Norman cut himself off when he caught sight of Harry watching them curiously from the doorway. "What are you doing out of bed?"

Blearily, Harry chose this moment to look at the clock and it only then occurred to him how strange it was for Norman to be having a meeting like this in the middle of the night. Never mind how odd the conversation itself had been. 

"How long were you listening, kid?" The imposing little man standing across from his father eyed Harry with suspicion. Not little compared to Harry, but short compared to Norman. What he lacked in height he more than made up for in the width of his broad shoulders. Made all the more threatening dressed in a dark blue suit, his shiny black hair cut in a rather distinctive style and slicked back with too much grease.

Norman immediately put himself between them, a lame attempt to block either one's sight from the other as he made his way towards Harry. 

"It's late," Norman said as he corralled Harry out of the room and back into the hall. 

"I know, I know. I was just finishing up homework and then I got hungry. Lost track of time, I guess. Who was that?"

"None of your concern."

"What were you talking about?"

" **None of your concern.** Harry, go back to bed."

_Of course_ Norman hadn't heard a _word_ that Harry had said. Did Harry look like he'd been going to bed? Hadn't he just said that he was on his way to the kitchen? Grumpily, and not without one more suspicious glance around to get another glimpse of the stranger, Harry huffed and turned as if to head back to his room. He'd totally intended to double back, but Norman actually grabbed him by the shoulder and marched him all the way to his bedroom door, nagging the whole time about how he shouldn't save his homework for the last minute. Okay, so maybe he had heard some of it after all. Harry felt sufficiently cowed and resigned himself to a harried rush of trying to finish everything in the morning or come up with a good excuse to get an extension.

* * *

When Norman returned to the study to continue his conversation with Hammerhead he had to keep a tight lid on his anger.

"This is why I told you not to come here." Among other reasons better left unsaid.

"Why? You don't trust your little boy not to tell anyone about what he might have overheard?"

"Harry doesn't even know what he heard." Judging by the look on Hammerhead's face, he didn't think that a satisfactory answer to his questions. "No," Norman assured him, "He won't be mentioning it to anyone."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I don't want you coming anywhere near my son again."

"You keep your end of the deal and you wont have to worry about that so much. You should be glad you still get to work with me. You start seeing that shark teethed albino hanging around here, then you'll have some real cause for concern. They call him Tombstone. Know why?"

"I think I can guess. Nevertheless, I'd prefer we arrange to meet elsewhere."

"Right... I'll be sure to take your  _preferences_  under consideration. In the meantime, no more mistakes. Or like I said, it won't be me that you have to worry about." 

 

* * *

 

Once Hammerhead departed, Norman was left alone in his study with a bottle of scotch. He poured himself two fingers and considered the amber liquid with a grimace. It wasn't going to help him solve his problems, he knew that. It could numb him at least a little, provide some temporary relief.

That's what his father would have done. Norman remembered watching the old git throw his life away, one bottle at a time. He'd aimed at least several at Norman's head, though he'd always missed spectacularly. 

Norman instead chose to think about his grandfather. Alton Osborn only ever drank in celebration. When the chips were down, Alton preferred to stay sober and clear headed.

Alton never would have tolerated the likes of Hammerhead. Not because Alton had any reservations about working with criminals, no. In his prime, Alton rubbed elbows with the head of the Maggia. Norman was loathe to think of Silvio Manfredi as an old family friend. But he couldn't argue with results. 

But now most of the Manfredi family was behind bars, in hiding or switched loyalties and Norman was on rocky terms with his replacement. This new guy blows into town, keeps to the shadows and calls himself the Kingpin. Surrounds himself with a bunch thugs and thinks _Norman Osborn_ should be terrified of him. Well, Wilson Fisk oughta have another _think_ coming. Soon, but not soon enough, this one would get knocked down just like all the others. Replaced, just like all the others. 

But Fisk was far too smart to be easily felled and Norman wasn't all that eager to see which new threat would emerge from all the potential candidates and vie to take his place. It certainly didn't help that the Kingpin had acquired leverage after discovering and saving evidence of Osborn's old dealings with Silvio Manfredi. Otherwise Norman would've been terribly tempted to find a way to see to it that he was dealt with more immediately. _**Permanently.**_

But as it stands, that's just not a viable solution right now.

For now Norman needed to bide his time. 

_'Play nice,'_ he thought icily to himself. As if they were all just playing a game together. Like children, they didn't know what they were getting themselves into.

Norman swore that they would all come to regret ever deciding to play games with _him_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if this feels incomplete. I'm not entirely satisfied with it, but I've been struggling to get out of a really bad slump. At this point any progress is good progress. (And the majority of this had just been sitting in my drafts for ages.)
> 
> And thanks for your comments! I was way too embarrassed to respond to them directly, but they always make me smile.
> 
> You can find me on Discord or Telegram if you want to chat. I'm open to collaborating and work much faster when I have people to bounce ideas off of. (check my Profile page for details)


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